Introduction: Every year in Slovenia there are 320 per 100.000 people that suffer from a head injury that requires hospital treatment. Amongst them, 15-30 per 100.000 people or more than 300 people per year die. Half of those that die because of severe head injury, die in the first two hours after the injury occurred. Out-of-hospital evaluation of an injured person with head trauma is, therefore, incredibly important for assuring adequate care, which is where healthcare workers have the most important role. With knowing the right interventions, healthcare workers can provide the best possible outcome for the injured person. Purpose: The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis is, by reviewing professional and scientific literature, to present the role of nurses in the care of an injured person with a severe head injury in the out-of-hospital environment by following the ITLS protocol and thus find out where nurses have the most important role with treating injured persons with a severe head injury and to explore some of the most common controversies that remain in the care of these injured people. Methods: In this bachelor’s thesis, we used a critical review of professional and scientific articles, books, and collections of scientific papers in the English and Slovene languages. The time frame of the search was from the year 2010 to the year 2020 and the keywords were related to the topic of the bachelor’s thesis. Results: The role of nurses in an out-of-hospital environment is complex. The work demands the ability to work individually, planning, and decision-making because the work happens in an environment where we cannot often consult with other healthcare workers. Their presence is of the utmost importance with direct help to the injured person, technical education of teams, and in carrying out protocols of healthcare and learning materials. With the help of nurses, the care of injured persons is quicker, more organized, and safer. The role of nurses with the care of injured people with a severe head injury is mostly in carrying out vitally important interventions, such as the care of the airway, oxygenation and ventilation, and sustaining sufficient blood pressure. Discussion and conclusion: Emergency medical teams have to provide the quickest possible response from the time the injury occurred to the admission of the injured to the appropriate trauma center or the mortality of these injured people quickly and drastically increases. The prognosis of injured people with a traumatic brain injury and low GCS score relies heavily on the early treatment of vital functions, mainly the out-of-hospital prevention of hypoxia with the right respiratory support, such as intubation, normoventilation, and the prevention of aspiration. To solve these problems, attention to detail and effective time management are necessary. Teamwork is of utmost importance because a lot of interventions have to happen at the same time. Despite constant research, a lot of uncertainties remain in out-of-hospital and also urgent care of injured persons with a severe head injury, mostly because of the complexities of such injuries.
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